Sign.



E. A. SCOTT.

SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. I917.

Pm... Feb.18,1919.

mmmv.

EARNJES'JL A. SCOTT, F MARION, OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. ie,- T919.

Application filed March 6, 1917. Serial No. 152,888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARNEsT A. Soo'rT,a citizen of the United States, residing at arion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signs and its primary object is to provide a sign of simple construction which may be set up adjacent a line of travel at slight expense and be capable of self-illumination at. night so that it willbe useful at all "times. The invention seeks to provide a sign which may be placed at dangerous points in a roadway or at shallow points of navigable streams and Which will become instantly visible when the light of an approaching vehicle is cast upon it. Incidental objects of the in vention will ppear in the course of the following descri tion.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

igure 1 is a front elevation of a sign embodying my improvements; I Fig. 2 is a side elevation with parts section;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the clamp or support for the signalmember of the sign.

In carrying out the invention, ll )rovide a base 1 which will preferably be 0 concrete and is embedded in the ground at the point where the sign is to be set up. Within this base, I seat a post 2 which may be of metal or other material and, if desired, may be formed of concrete integrally with the base. At a suitable point of the height of the post 2, ll provide wings or sign boards 3 which may be of metal, glass or other material. These sign boards will preferably be formed of metal and will have their outer ends tapered, as shown at 4, while their inner ends will be constructed with loops or eyes 5 which are adapted to fit around the post 2 and carry set screws 6 which may be turned home against the post to secure the sign boards in position. It will be readily understood that sheet metal will be preferable forthese sign boards because it is durable and light and the loops or eyes 5 may be readily formed by cutting tongues on the inner ends of the sign boards and then bending these tongues around the post. The eyes on each board will be spaced apart so that the eyes on the two boards will alternate in engaging around the post and will thereby aid in holding the boards at a right angle to the post. The surfaces of the sign boards will be painted white and marked along their central longitudinal lines with red lines or bars 7 constituting the shanks along the beveled or tapered outer ends of the sign boards. Above and below the shank 7 of each'arrow may be painted letters or figures, as shown at 9,

ormation useful to travelers passing the The information will generally consist of the names of towns or other places which may be reached in either direction and the distance from the post to said places. Above the sign boards 3, I secure upon the post 2 a collar 10 carrying a set screw 11 by which it may be secured also constructed with a radially disposed arm 12 to opposite sides of which are secured socket members 13 adapted to fit around and be secured to a casing 14 preferably of conical form. This casing 14 may be of metal or wood, or of any desired maor other packing 16 packing is placed a conical mirror or reflector 17 which will preferably be formed of highly polished metal, but may be of any other desired material. A gasket 18 is fitted against the front edge of the reflector and a circular glass plate 19 is placed against the said gasket and is held thereagainst by a spring retaining ring 20 fitted between the glass plateand the bead 15, as will be readily understood. The central part of this glass plate is preferably colored red, as indicated at 21, while the marginal portion thereof is clear. The central portion may be given any color but red is pre ferred as it is generally accepted and known as a-danger signal.

Upon the upper end of the post 2 is fitted an ornamental cap 22 which is of a general conical form so that it sheds water and will thereby prevent the collection of moisture on the post, the post being thereby protected against deterioration from weather influences.

Rapidly moving vehicles, including boats. are now generally and. almost universally required to carry lights at night. and even where the law does not require-such lights, they are generally provided in order that the occupants of the vehicle may-observe the road ahead and avoid danger. When the light from an approaching vehicle is directly upon the sign, hereinbefore described, it will immediately illuminate the same so that the colors thereon will fracted by the conical reflector 17 and will sign.

be thereby turned back upon and caused to pass through the signal spot 21 and light up the same, the spot being caused to grow in brilliance as the vehicle approaches the The device will be found very efiicacious inasmuch as the light from the vehicle upon the sign will cause it to flash up suddenly and it will, therefore, be sure to attract the attention of the driver or pilot so that the necessary caution in steering the vehicle will be observed.

The device is exceedingly simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and ma be manufactured and set up at a very slight cost, While the cost. of maintenance will be negligible.

If preferred, a small lamp, indicated at 23, may be placed within the apex of the reflector 17 so as to illuminate the entire interior of the signal and cause the signal spot 21 to glow constantly. This lamp will be advantageous as an emergency device inasmuch as it sometimes happens that the insane? head light of a vehicle will be rendered inoperative through some accident or other cause and in that event, of course, the sign would not be illuminated from the vehicle and might not be seen until the vehicle was close upon it. The provision of a small lamp 23 will illuminate the signal sufficiently to make it visible at a distance sufiicient to give the traveler the required warning. Under these circumstances, the traveler will necessarily be proceeding at a slow speed and, of course, have his vehicle under perfect control.

While I have herein illustrated one form ofmy invention and have shown the same applied to a sign, it will be apparent that the construction of the mechanism can be altered and that the invention can be applied to devices other than the sign. I. therefore, wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to one skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A sign comprising a post, a sign board adjustable longitudinally and circumferentially of the post and having its intermediate portion provided with spaced longitudinal incisions, and the material between said incisions being extended in opposite directions to form loops adapted to embrace the post, and clamping devices extending through the Sign board at said loops and engaging the post for holding the sign board in adjusted position thereon.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EARNEST A. scorr. [L.s.] 

